Turner Bequest

When J.M.W. Turner died in 1851, he bequeathed "about 300 paintings and 30,000 drawings as well as a large sum of money" to the nation of Great Britain on two conditions: (i) that the works be displayed in a "Turner Gallery" at the National Gallery in London and (ii) that the money be used "for the foundation of an almshouse for elderly artists in the South London suburb of Twickenham."

However, after the artist's death, his descendants were successful in challenging his will on the grounds of the absurd "Mortmain law" of 1736 and, despite the House of Lords' Select Committee holding in 1861 that the conditions had to be fulfilled, Turner's wishes have never been met. Reuniting J.M.W. Turner's bequest

I feel passionately that for us to have someone like Turner, indisputably one of the greatest landscape artists of the world, and not to implement his will, not to do what he wanted, is tragic and scandalous.

Henry Moore, 1975

Unfortunately gallery directors will fight to keep what they have, even though it is inconvenient to them and against the public good that it should remain where it is.